


An Interlude

by elriccore



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: M/M, if you see me uploading two things a day apart from each other no you dont, it's.. not really edling? lightly implied?, just deep conversations at 3am, like the title says.. jus a short lil thing, like.. he and lan fan overhear in the hotel but they literally get no fuckgin context, no kissing here sorry guys, semi-based off of the fact that ling never genuinely gets to hear how ed and al lost their shit, that stupid camping trip from hell
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:26:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29477679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elriccore/pseuds/elriccore
Summary: “How’d you lose your arm and leg?” Were the tentative words that escaped Ling’s lips, resulting in Ed’s responsive tensing. His gaze and head snapped back towards the other for what felt like the millionth time that night, eyes almost sharp and alarmed-- before Edward slumped forwards and exhaled.--During the first month of their long trek around Amestris, Ed and Ling have a little talk.
Relationships: Edward Elric & Ling Yao, Edward Elric/Ling Yao
Comments: 3
Kudos: 86





	An Interlude

Edward never thought of himself as a person who asked for much, but he wondered if Ling getting more time in his own body was too much to ask for.

Not like Ling had vanished entirely or ceased to exist around him, of course; though at times it felt like it. Occasionally, he’d hear the new Greed muttering to himself-- having been given the task (no thanks to Darius and Heinkel) of finding him every time he wandered off. Nearly every time he did find Greed, usually in some secluded part of the woods, it was more-so because of the sounds he made.

And he always heard him talking. Speaking one-sided to himself, sometimes annoyed, sometimes sounding amused or tired or dismissive-- and even panicked at certain moments. The annoyed nights were usually times Ling came about. The panicked nights were ones that Greed went to sleep early, which was a little odd, given Edward didn’t think he needed the rest.

He wondered if it had anything to do with the Devil’s Nest. Because apparently, from what Ling had implied, he had just the slightest memories of what happened back in Dublith. Ling, from what he’d seen, didn’t want to elaborate on it much when questioned, and the prince always looked at him weird when he tried to push.

The new Greed was just.. odd. Not awful or unbearable, especially not as much as the other homunculi, but he always just acted aloof. Most of the time he’d be snarky, smug, or a little sarcastic, but it wasn’t the same. And it didn’t feel natural. It made him wonder. 

He had a lot of questions how the whole homunculus thing even worked, actually. He wondered what it was like when Ling wasn’t around. Was he just trapped in his own mind? He could obviously _hear_ what they were all saying when he wasn’t in control, so maybe it was like going to a movie? Ling always seemed tired. Maybe he was fighting against something. Greed didn’t seem like he struggled to jump for control much, though.

Another thing Edward regretted was letting this all happen at the ass-end of Autumn. It always made his joints hurt, and walking around in cold and biting weather was always exhausting. It didn’t help that they didn’t have many rations. While Ed very much needed to eat, he’d been told, he never bothered denying Ling all the shit he had in his bag whenever he came out. It was stupid. He shouldn’t have even needed to eat.

Maybe eating comforted him in a way? It’s not like he was necessarily human anymore. The concept was something he quickly swept under the rug, though, because being human was more of a _state of being_ and less of a physical thing. Darius and Heinkel ate a lot, but they were good at catching live meals (not like Ed couldn’t catch raw meat-- quite the opposite with being forced to set rabbit traps whenever they were in warmer areas). Ed probably should’ve ate more, with Al being stuck in the midst of the Gate. His automail didn’t help much. But he didn’t really see the point in bothering anyone for more, or just explaining the situation, so he just kept himself tired and hungry.

As shown by his state of being alive and very, _very hungry_ though, the lack of food didn’t stop him from having to go on the run everywhere. Laying low until the Promised Day was always a good idea. Being a sacrifice didn’t sound necessarily pleasant, but he wasn’t sure if they had an exact way to circumvent the damn thing. He knew the Colonel was probably going to stage a coup, knowing him, but-- what’d it even matter? They had five more months before that.

Five months. He really wouldn’t get to see Al and Winry for a while.

So with that train of thought in mind, Ed massaged at his port-- although the motion was more or less gripping his upper leg and moving his hands around. While the new automail maintenance done on his arm before he left Baschool really helped keep it going and eased up on a chance of getting frostbite or possible pains, it didn’t stop it from aching a little. Especially whenever it snowed or stormed.

The campfire he sat before helped a little, the warmth from the fire soaking through his cloak and other layers of clothing. All he could really do at the moment was listen to the crackle, feel the warmth, watch it burn, and hope that he felt some sort of comfort from it. He couldn’t do anything else at the moment, given it was pitch black and everyone was essentially asleep. Darius and Heinkel’s loud and animalistic (haha) snoring from their shared tent made sure to remind him of that.

There was one alternative option left, though, and that was feeding the fire-- the thought barely the first in his mind as he absently tossed a stray log of firewood into the pit. With the chuck, the fire sputtered back to life, quietly roaring and raising. Ashes flew up and around, touching the ground and burning out-- coming dangerously close to searing Ed’s feet.

Kind of sucked that it was all he had for light. Sure, there was the stars and the moon, but the bristling leaves rattling with the wind and looming overhead kind of defeated the purpose. Maybe if he had more light, he would’ve noticed Ling-- or more so his body-- approaching from the trees, the only sound his steps made being the dead giveaway that he was there at all.

It didn’t stop Ed from turning his head, though. Just in case.

“You’re up late,” the body piped up, and after a moment of reasoning-- Ed deducted that it was Ling, only sighing in response and turning his gaze back towards the ground. His shoulders somewhat loosened with the realization, hands moving from his right thigh to drape over his knees.

“Can’t sleep,” he murmured, resisting the urge to pick up another log beside the relatively larger and sturdier one he was sitting on. “Automail’s a bitch. Where’s Greed?”

“Asleep,” the prince breathed, making his way over to where Ed was seated and making his place beside him. Ed didn’t even bother pushing him away, somewhat enjoying the company in the back of his mind, given the talking helped his mind move from the aches where his arm and leg once resided. Not to mention it was just kind of lonely at night. “I think he’s still a little awake, given he’s moving around a bit, but enough to where he doesn’t bother me.”

Turning his head, golden eyes locked their gaze onto the other boy beside him-- noting the way his eyes were slitted open, staring into the heart of the warmth ahead. For being a homunculus, it was kind of odd that Ling seemed to have small creases under his eyes-- or perhaps they’d just always been there, and he hadn’t noticed.

“Mm. Didn’t even know he needed to sleep.” Wetting his lips, Ed exhaled through his nose-- blinking at the way the warm air contrasting the cold materialized in front of him. “What even is being stuck in there all day like, anyways? Been meanin’ to ask.”

Ling paused.

“It’s like watching yourself in first person, sort of,” he mused, “like looking through a camera lens. I can do little things, like moving my-- or I guess our-- eyes, but I can’t be fully conscious. The souls in the stone are very loud.”

“Was it worth it?” 

Turning his head towards the alchemist sitting beside him, Ling simply took a moment to stare, before simply blinking and hunching his shoulders. “I don’t know. I suppose so.” Rolling his fingers in his hand against his palm-- the tattooed one, Ed noted-- the other’s feet shuffled against the dirt beneath them. “I came here for the stone, after all. I’m looking forward to going back to Xing when this is said and done, because this’ll be over. With Greed or not. But it’s--”

Listening to Ling swallow and trail off, leaving something unsaid, Edward watched him hang his head low-- looking almost as if he were scrutinizing every pebble and grain of earth beneath.

“When I say the souls are loud, they’re _very_ loud. Like how they were with Envy, but worse.” He started, sounding almost uncertain. “It feels like they’re eating at me. Trying to suck me into the stone with them. It’s just-- hard.”

Eyes subconsciously fluttering open a hitch in slight alarm, Ed sucked the air in between his teeth-- head turning back towards the only source of light they had left. The fire had successfully begun to somewhat calm, but was still keeping steady and warm. It wasn’t that pleasant a warmth though, whether it have been because of memories or not-- it was more so the type that irritated your skin when you kept near for too long.

“I should’ve helped you back there.” He eventually ended up snorting, sounding somewhat derisive as he did so. “You said not to butt in, and I-- I don’t even think I could’ve if I tried. Guns scare me to hell and back, but I could’ve _stopped_ it, Ling.”

“A gun wouldn’t have gotten Envy off of your back,” Ling began matter-of-factly, “and it would’ve gotten you more hurt. I’m dealing with this fine on my own. Greed can be unbearable, but I mean that in the most figurative sense imaginable.”

Ed folded his hands together, gloved and cold metal meeting covered flesh. He wasn’t really sure if the left one was shaking because of the cold or aches or whatever the hell else, or if it was something more. Maybe he was hungry, or maybe he was tired. It could’ve been all of the above, for all he cared.

And with Ling’s blissful ignorance to that, and with the lack of retorts coming to Ed’s mind and through his mouth-- they simply sat in silence, the only noises audible being Darius and Heinkel’s obnoxious snoring and the soft ripple of the fire. There was some commotion from the leaves because of the breeze, although the two barely acknowledged it in the back of their minds.

“..Speaking of,” the prince broke the silence, “I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”

“Shoot.”

“How’d you lose your arm and leg?” Were the tentative words that escaped Ling’s lips, resulting in Ed’s responsive tensing. His gaze and head snapped back towards the other for what felt like the millionth time that night, eyes almost sharp and alarmed-- before Edward slumped forwards and _exhaled._

“I’ve overheard bits and pieces,” he continued, “and you don’t have to answer, but I just--”

“--Human transmutation.”

A pause, and after a moment, Ling blinked-- sounding genuinely confused when he piped back up. “What?”

“I don’t know if you have a term for it with y’all’s funky alkahestry stuff,” he waved his metal hand, “but me and Al tried to bring a dead person back to life after I roped him into trying with me. Al lost his body, I lost my leg, and eventually my arm trying to bring his soul back. That’s what all that gate talk was about when we were in Gluttony’s gut.”

A few beats passed, and Ed let out a breath he wasn’t quite aware he’d been holding-- slipping his eyes shut and shaking his head. Maybe it wasn’t necessarily the best idea, telling him this, given it was technically more than taboo-- more so illegal-- in Amestris. It was probably the same in Xing. But they were already on the run, weren’t they? What was the point in avoiding the question?

“So that’s what that talk in the hotel was about,” Ling muttered, almost as if he pieced something together. “It was your mother.”

“You were listening to that?”

“You kicked me and Lan Fan out of your room. I didn’t necessarily have anywhere else to stay.”

The alchemist’s brows knitted together, amber eyes drifting back open-- meeting a harsh and familiar orange upon his vision being restored. After a short glance through the corner of his eye, he could almost feel rather than see Ling staring at him-- but only knowing through looking that he seemed somewhat sympathetic, somewhat knowing, and he didn’t quite know how to feel about it. Maybe annoyed, being patronized or pitied.

“--Yeah.” Ed swallowed. “After I got back from Xerxes, I stopped in Resembool for a few days. Turns out my old man was there, and he said some shit that made me do some things. Always thought I killed her twice before that.”

“Your father?” Ling hummed, inquisitive. “The one that ran out on you?”

“That’s the bitch.” 

The prince blinked. Once. Twice. Before turning his gaze downwards, and towards Ed’s folded hands-- lips quirking downwards as soon as he scanned them. _Probably noticed that they were shaking,_ Ed considered, _though it’s not like the rest of him was doing any better._

After a moment of seeming consideration, the other teen lifted his own hands upwards to grab at the labels of his trenchcoat-- the one Greed had picked out, presumably-- shrugging it off, bunching it up, and hoisting it onto Ed’s shoulders. As soon as Edward himself processed the situation and the sudden warmth, he almost felt a little chillier-- gaze landing back on Ling, not even necessarily surprised that Greed could have an abundance of sleeveless shirts.

He wondered if Ling still got cold, and if it bothered him. Not like he’d freeze to death or anything and die because of it now, theoretically (though he could still freeze-- kind of like Sloth, given their makeup was still essentially the same as a human’s). Maybe he was just naturally warm? It’d explain why he always went without a shirt, and it’d explain why the damn thing was so _warm._ That wasn’t fair.

Tucking the coat closer in on himself, Ed hummed; almost relieved. The ache that had been pushed into the back of his mind dulled a little as the warmth spread farther, though certainly not completely-- just barely acknowledging it as Ling simply _snickered_ at him. Only a moment later did he realize he’d actually been gawking a little.

“You really should get some sleep, Ed,” Ling chimed back in, tone notably lighter and airier than before. “You’ll need the rest for tomorrow. I don’t want to get an earful from Greed about how you’re acting all grumpy and sour around him because you haven’t slept.”

Watching Ling stand back up, Edward’s head and gaze followed the movement-- a brow peaking as the prince’s expression shifted back into something more solemn and neutral. After a moment of curling his fists and standing before the fire, Ling turned back towards him, giving him a reassuring _stroke_ to his shoulder.

And then he just-- walked away. Silently. Like he wanted to say something more, debated and considering. Listening to the dirt and grass crunch below his feet as Ling walked away, promptly fading into the brush and darkness of the surrounding forest (likely to survey the area for anyone looking for them), Ed felt his stomach drop.

And he was left alone.

Again.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!!!!!
> 
> hmu on tumblr or twitter (@elriccore) if you wanna talk, send artwork in, or just say hi!!! i'd love that!  
> \--
> 
> like in the tags, this was essentially just like. a small little practice ficlet? ling never flat out learns how ed and al lost their bodies so like.. me raising my little typey hands like I Am Going To Fix This Or So Help Me


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